I haven´t read "Cuban Nocturne" but many authors use that dreadful Luciano book as a source when writing their own.

the book may be "havanna nocturne" any way its a great read. I get my book titles mixed up, im an old guy.

The Last Testament was entertaining if nothing else, wasn't it.

I don't know how true it is. What does ring true about it for me is only the dialect and language Luciano seems to use throughout it. Other quotes attributed to Luciano seem to use the same language. You can tell from his quotes that if nothing else, he was a fast thinker, to the point, and no nonsense. $$$

I said earlier in the thread that Luciano was rumored to have inspired the creation of the Cupola in Italy. Another anecdote I've read said that it was actually Joe Bonanno that came up with the idea of an Italian Commission. By the way it was phrased, it made it seem as if it was merely a suggestion made at a meeting/think tank, not a "my way or the highway" sort of pronouncement the way Lucky Luciano did back in the 30's.

alfa romeo, don't you think that the way Luciano set the organization up benefited the families for decades, and the commission did in fact move against dutch Shultz when he was set to murder Thomas dewey, the commission was badly needed if it had no presence can you imagine all the wars. as far as the "last testament" goes isn't it all we have from Luciano.

Binnie, Luciano not only set up the Commission (with help from his pre-Mafia multi ethnic connections), but also I read somewhere that he actually closed the books. You couldn't even get made for a few decades until the books reopened, from 1931 to 1954. Think about that. No Donnie Brascos, no Jack Falcones, no infiltrators. Informants yes, but undercovers no. And if you were a real bonafide crook, you still couldn't get made, probably up until 1954 when they opened the books again. Then the books closed again four years later. That was immensely protective of the old American Cosa Nostra. The old outfit had a lot more collaboration between the Mafia and corrupt law enforcement and politicians. It was easier to kill then, forensics not being then what they are now. No DNA. Nothing. And Murder Incorporated on the loose. Lucky and the rest of the bosses had it made back then, as much as you can have it made while fearing for your life everyday.

Yes, the Commission whacked Dutch. But the victors write the histories, therefore we only know the excuse. Notice how every book written by every rat always puts them in a good light? Or when they recount a murder, like Riccobono did, the guy really deserved it? Notice how every mob tale has most of the victims deserving to be hit? The truth is that we just don't know. Was Maranzano actually planning to hit Lucky and his friends? We don't know. All we know is that this is the excuse Lucky and the others gave the rest of the bosses for whacking Maranzano. Was Dutch killed only and just because of the reason we were given? Who knows.

And there is more on Luciano, lots of anecdotes and dialog. You're gonna love this one Binnie....

Mail order a book called "Lucky Luciano Was My Target" by Sal Vizzini.

I read that one.

Also get "Vizzini: The Secret Lives of America's Most Successful Undercover Agent"

Who is Sal Vizzini? Sal Vizzini was an agent for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, the predecessor of DEA. Sal Vizzini eventually became a police chief in South Miami USA. You can read a bit about him using your search engine. Sal Vizzini "befriended" Lucky Luciano and gives us countless quotes from Charlie himself. He even describes tattoos on Charlies body. He describes even the first time he met Lucky and describes him up close, every detail and pockmark.

Sal Vizzini in his book details how he blew up a cocaine warehouse of some kind, killing many people in the process. He makes no apologies for the murders because he felt he did what needed to be done in the name of law enforcement and fighting drug trafficking. Before we say his story is false, remember that he was a police chief in Miami USA with these words attributed to him and I think he is still living. Like many undercovers he seems to either nearly cross the line of morality or engage in activities that make him seem suspect of going beyond the law.

You need to get those books.

alfa romeo, great post, very informative, especially about bosses being hit. youre right, how do we know the reasons. read the vizzini book a few years ago, its not mentioned much for some reason. its proof positive of lucianos heroin dealing I remember reading that he got high up in sicilys drug trade, also if I remember correctly the heroin came from france to be processed in sicily, he was working with a Sicilian one time and the man had lost an eye he told vizzini, "its ok I got another one" cant help from wondering why the book wasn't a best seller, its as if someone put the hex on it, ill bet hardly anyone in this room has heard of it. thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Vizzini's illustration of how Luciano navigated through Italian terrain gave some of us our first glance into the dealings of the Corsican Mafia, the Unione Corse. That is one of the things that just grip your attention in Vizzini's book. He might have also mentioned the Turks.

When you look at how huge Lucky Luciano was, and then you contemplate that only someone as massive as him could deal with multiple mafias across continents, it's mindblowing. Lucky was having simultaneous dealings with American Cosa Nostra, Sicilian Cosa Nostra, Unione Corse, maybe Turkish Mafia from where the Opium originated, and who knows who else.

You noticed the hex too didn't you. So did I. Today's writers on Lucky Luciano ignore Sal Vizzini, ignore his books, his undercover work. They treat him as if he is a blowhard who embellishes and inflates his accomplishments. But Sal Vizzini was a man of a thousand faces, from the old DEA before it was called DEA, someone who could sit down with Joe Pistone and possibly teach him a thing or two over a cup of coffee. Someone like that deserves serious consideration. Joachim Garcia (Jack Falcone) is another legend, but he was partly trained by Joe Pistone if we believe what Pistone says in his book. Vizzini and Pistone are the schoolmasters of undercover work. Garcia is like a master's master apprentice.

The black out against Sal Vizzini might extend beyond the sphere of professional writers. It might have something to do with his relationship with law enforcement itself. It's not only writers who don't utter his name. It's also law enforcement speaking to the media who simply seem to have amnesia when it comes to Sal Vizzini. To guess why, I will need to read his book again to get clues to that.

alfa, yeah, there is something going on there, he did everything he was asked to do. is he stil alive? why has he never shown himself? like yourself I believe the questions have answers. looking forward to your next new topic.

never heard he wasn't respected in italy. i mean he was from there and he was ontop in america you'd figure he was celebrated over there. but i found this interesting.

Few things:
Lucky was from Lercara Friddi, it didn't have a strong mafia pressence, and he didn't have relatives in the mafia.
Lucky operated mostly in Naples and Rome, from what I understand.
Lucky connects to heroin started out diverting legal opiates to the black market, then by his connections to French Corsicans through the oss (CIA)
Lucky depended on reliable people in the states to maintain power when he got deported, this is one of the major misconceptions I think people have, they forget these guys are JACKALS. When lucky gets deported EVERYONES power increased, yet people seemed convinced that these guys would be tripping over themselves to pay him respect and send tribute when he's locked away for 50 years or thousands of miles away.
Someone mentioned JOe BIondo as LUckys go between, this is interesting cause Biondo was GAmbinos man, to me it corroborates the meeting of Luciano and gambino in 48. It explains the rise of gambino, and is a subtle clue that lucky didn't find Anastasia that reliable, Scalise was anastasias man in narcotics, he was not liked by lucky.
I know people find that last testament fraudulent, but a lot of it is really intriguing...

Not exactly unchallenged, Coppola was actually bigger, four or five families behind him, plus waaaaay more clout in Sicily....

Made a tread on joe Adonis, it has a good link...

I wouldn't say lucky wasn't respected, more like he wasn't really Mafiosi, didn't really believe in it like that, even though he was Sicilian, he was a product of America.
Like Coppola supposedly help organize basically terrorist strikes against political enemies of the CHristian democrats or something, picked the boss of his hometown mafia family, just more pull in Sicily in general.
Like let me ask this question, would VIto GEnovese get slapped in ITaly?
Look at the moves he pulled, with the fascist and the allies. I see him as more powerful in Italy than Luciano but that's just me. ANd he wasn't mafia either, he was from Naples.
I think it was BAdalamenti who avenged that slap to Luciano, he was tied into the drug network via Detroit, and Windsor.
It was best explained in a book I read, in America Luciano operated a power syndicate, in that he directly controlled territory through an army of men.
In Italy, he had an enterprise syndicate, in that he controlled certain aspects of a profitable business, (dope) that he could share with allies, and that was the source of his power

What is this about Luciano being slapped now? By whom? And what are your sources for this? Bottom line is, Luciano was always respected, he still had his allies in the states like Lucchese and Gambino. When he wanted Genovese out of the way, he accomplished that. Like I said in the other thread, he was visited by too many people including Outfit heavyweights, during his time in Italy, to have not been respected. He dealt with and had friendships with Italies top Sicilian mafioso until the day he died, and his heroin pipeline never really dried up as he was still being investigated for it and was set to be charged, up until his fateful heart attack.

Agreed, saying he wasn't respected, is inaccurate.
I read that Lucky got slapped in a book about Sicily, I'll post it soon as I get a chance.
And I mean, I think this thread is more about sifting through the facts and the myths.
I mean BOnnano thought Carlo was a pussy cause Anastasia slapped or almost slapped him, or some shit, but we know what's really real right?
And the guy ended up dead anyway...
I just find it kinda amusing, like people don't even think Luciano could be slapped lol

In fairness, so was Coppola. I mean he ran a narcotics network from Mexico, while at the same time involved in intrigues in Sicily...

What you guys are describing as a hex, this Luciano blackout, covered over by myth, is why I got so interested in Lcn and narcotics. See they were very hooked up into the oss/cia and the FBN/DEA was starting to unravel these embarrassing connections, that the FBI ignored. The blanket denials across the whole mafia spectrum from lucky to Bonnano to BUschetta, to even Hollywood with the godfathers.... I don't wanna go x files on you guys, but I think the intelligence apparatus, kinda kept a lotta shit quiet..

who is coppola?

Frankie "Three Fingers" Coppola.